The Masters Collection at Woodford Reserve is typically a yearly, limited-release series focused on whiskey innovations and noveltiesoften batches that have received unique finishes, or mash bills, or unusual aspects that make them superlative in their own way. However, for this years 2020 Masters Collection release, the Brown-Forman brand decided to go back to its roots, as it were, in order to deliver a classic bourbon that pays homage to the decade and a half that Master Distiller Chris Morris has spent with the brand.

This release, dubbed Woodford Reserve Very Fine Rare Bourbon, is a blend of Woodford-distilled Brown-Forman bourbons and includes some of the oldest whiskey to ever bear the Woodford name, at 17 years old. This is not an age-stated bottle of bourbon, but rather a blend that features a significant portion of this very-old distillate. Although future Masters Collection releases will return to primarily exploring innovation, this one instead explores the history of what Woodford Reserve has done to date. These 17-year-old barrels represent a portion of the oldest aging whiskey stock in Woodfords possession.